RICHMOND, Ind. – After dropping the opening frame, the Earlham College volleyball team won three straight sets to take down Hanover College in HCAC action. 

Caylee Brandes led the offense with 12 kills on the evening. Anniyah Harrington posted 10 kills and a .273 attack percentage. 

Ava Walters dished out a team-high 21 assists, while Sydney Bleyle tallied 10 assists. Madison Bizjak led the back line with 15 digs, and hit a team-high four service aces. Lauren Newcomer collected 10 digs with one ace and a block assist. 

The first set was balanced for both teams, with Hanover taking a 10-9 lead after four lead changes early in the set. The Panthers then scored a 13-4 run to blow open the set and lead 23-13. Earlham scored a 4-1 run, but the Panthers won the set on a service error. 

Hanover took a 5-3 lead in the second frame, but Earlham worked its way back to an 11-9 lead, and trailed 15-14 before scoring a 5-0 run. Hanover came back to 24-23, but a kill from Brandes ended the set with an Earlham win. 

Members of the 1969 NAIA National Championship men's volleyball team were honored in Druley Performance Gym following the second set. 

The Quakers jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the third set, and led 17-12 before a 7-3 run by the visitors. Tied at 21, Earlham locked in with a 4-1 scoring run to end the frame. 

Hanover led 8-5 before the Quakers strung together a 7-1 run, which included five straight points. Hanover then responded with a 7-1 run to lead 16-13. Undeterred, Earlham scored six straight, including two aces by Bizjak to lead 19-16. Hanover then scored four straight to lead 2-19 after a timeout. With Hanover leading 22-21, Earlham scored three straight with help from attack errors by the Panthers. Skyler Murray then ended the match on a kill with a 25-23 score in the set.

Earlham continues play on Wednesday at Bluffton University. First serve is set for 7 pm.